


I Need Somewhere to Stay (Don't Think Anybody I Know Is Awake)

by Anonymous



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Fluff, hopefully, it's super soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24529873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: It was infuriating. Despite feeling tired the entire day, exhaustion seeping deep into her bones, Izayoi going as far as taking not one, but two short naps in between her duties, sleep eluded her now that she wanted nothing but, much to her annoyance.She took a deep controlled  breath, letting the cold air fill her lungs, as she imagined her body slowly sinking into the floor, letting her bones grow heavy, trying her best to silence the thoughts running through her brain. She could feel a familiar darkness just on the edge of her awareness, taunting her with the promise of a deep and dreamless sleep. Taking another deep breath she let the darkness encompass her.Tock.Izayoi forced her eyes to remain shut.Tock.Tock.
Relationships: Inu no Taishou/Izayoi
Kudos: 13
Collections: Anonymous





	I Need Somewhere to Stay (Don't Think Anybody I Know Is Awake)

Laying in bed, her sleeping position growing increasingly uncomfortable, Izayoi switched sides for what felt like the millionth time this night. Tossing and turning underneath her blankets, she adjusted her arm beneath her head until she felt comfortable again. But not for long. At this point her legs were hopelessly entangled with the sheats, her hair, which her maids had brushed out so carefully before she had retired for the night, was now a birds nest, complete with messy knots and tangles.

Light was falling through the cracks of the window throwing thin stripes across the room. She drew her gaze away from the uneven pattern of the wooden floor and closed her eyes. Inside of her room there was nothing but the quiet sound of her breathing. Outside the world was silent as well, save for the sound of the wind, plucking the last of the leaves from the branches to join the rest of them swirling around on the ground.

It was infuriating. Despite feeling tired the entire day, Izayoi going as far as taking not one, but two short naps in between her duties, sleep eluded her now that she wanted nothing but, much to her annoyance.  
She took a deep, controlled breath, letting the cold air fill her lungs, as she imagined her body slowly sinking into the floor, letting her bones grow heavy, trying her best to silence the thoughts running through her brain. She could feel a familiar darkness just on the edge of her awareness, taunting her with the promise of a deep and dreamless sleep. Taking another deep breath she let the darkness encompass her.

Tock.

Izayoi forced her eyes to remain shut.

Tock. _Tock._

The wind had picked up and outside of her room there was the sound of a lone branch knocking against the wall in irregular intervals, making her anticipate the next dull _tock_ of wood against wood. She listened to the unwelcome noise for a few more minutes, hoping it would subside, before giving up. She blinked her eyes open and turned onto her back, allowing her arms to fall wide open on her sides.

__

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she threw back the covers and promptly regretted her rash action as the chilly night air hit her skin.  
Izayoi frantically gathered up the blankets around her, wrapping them around her as a partial shield against the frigid air, trying to recapture the cozy warmth she had felt before.  
She stood up and tiptoed across the floor, the rough wood scraping against her bare feet, quietly sliding open the door to the garden. The air wasn’t just chilled here, it was almost freezing, but not enough to turn her breath white. She closed the door behind her and then slid down until she hit the floor. Letting her head fall back against the wood, she gazed up at the night sky. The moon was a muted grey tonight and it took her a moment until she could make out its shape, the colours almost indistinguishable against the dark background. She let her gaze wander down again.

__

With no moon to illuminate the garden, the responsibility was placed solely on the groups of small stars scattered across the night sky, their reflection giving of a dull glow from the murky pond, catching in the first fine ice crystals slowly forming around the stones and along the edges of the water.  
The barren bushes and trees, usually so vivid and green in the summer, filling the space with their leaves swaying in the breeze, now showed their gnarly and twisted branches, casting unnerving shadows onto the ground.  
It was as if someone had thrown a grey veil over the world, muffling the sound of life and muting all the colours, allowing only little hints of dull green moss and deep brown roots in the black earth to peek through, leaving only the flat grey stones walls and paths be.

__

She considered going for a walk in the woods for a moment, but feared that she would get lost or accidentally injure herself without Togas sharp eyes to guide her.  
_Ridiculous. Not too long ago that would have never stopped you._  
But since then, the lands around her had become increasingly dangerous, the threat of retribution no longer enough to stop both human and demon alike from preying on the weak. The only reason she was able to leave the castle and remain unharmed was unharmed was Togas presence, scarring off lesser demons and other threats.

__

She knew better than to expect her husband home tonight. It hadn’t been longer than two weeks since they had parted and, from what he had let on, this business of his would not be easy to take care of. Though she would never admit it, it sometimes hurt her how he would leave her in the dark about his responsibilities, but she could understand why he would be reluctant to talk about the more gruesome aspects of his duties. It was a heavy burden to bear and a relief to have at least one person he did not _have_ to talk to about these things if he did not want to. She could easily give him that. She wouldn’t mind being his sanctuary a little longer, before the consequences of their actions would inevitably catch up with them. 

__

Sunken deep in thought, she almost missed the silent approach of said person, emerging from the shadow of nearby woods and pausing at the treeline for a moment, the eerie glow from his yellow eyes making him look like a monster that had come to devour her whole, skin and bone, leaving nothing behind. 

__

It was a good thing that she knew better.

__

He crossed the distance between them in an instance, no more than a blurred dot to her human eyes.  
Now that he was standing in front of her, as if he too didn’t quite know what to do, she could see that his silver-white hair was giving of a faint glow, casting a halo around his face. Smiling broadly, his teeth were gleaming sharply in the low light. He was panting, his chest heaving as if he had run here as fast as he could, with little care for himself. Knowing him, that was probably true. Patience had never been his strong suit, not when he truly wanted something. 

__

“I didn’t expect you to still be awake.” Toga looked down at her perched in front of the door, nestled in her blankets like a strange featherless bird. “I hope you weren’t waiting for me?” 

__

“Don’t flatter yourself.” As if she hadn’t stayed up countless nights before, desperately hoping that he would come for her still even when the sun was slowly rising on the horizon, painting the sky with pastel pinks and bold broad strokes of red and yellow. Later falling asleep in the oddest positions in the middle of the day, worrying her parents and servants, only to stay up again the next night. “I was simply admiring the new moon. You never even cross my mind.”, she teased unable to keep a smile of her face as well. He glanced over his shoulder towards the dark moon, and then gave a solemn nod, as if he had evaluated her reason and found it appropriate. 

__

He sat down next to her, sliding down the wall, pulling her out of her cocoon and into his arms in the one motion. She felt the freezing air hit her skin and sucked in a sharp breath, but it lasted no longer than a second. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, burying his nose in her hair. “Well, unlike you, I have missed you terribly.”

__

“Your hands are cold.” Izayoi glanced down at his hands gently holding hers, rubbing slowly over the tips of her fingers, watching as they slowly turned from faintly blue to white and then finally to a bright pink. “My hands aren’t the only thing that's cold.” She could barely hold back a mischievous grin as she found the bare skin of his ankle, and pressed her toes into them, making him wince. “It seems that your heart is frozen solid as well.” 

__

He quickly reached over to where her blankets laid discharged, wrapped them around her legs and tucked them beneath her feet. “First you tell me you don’t miss me, then you torture me with your icy feet, and _despite_ all of that-” She could see is hands gesturing wildly in front of her face. ”- _I haven’t even gotten a kiss yet!”_ The sheer frustration in his voice was too much for her to resist. She twisted in his arms until she could place a quick peck on his cheek. 

__

“You are truly evil.”

__

“Are you sure?” She placed another delicate kiss against his jaw and then let her head fall down to rest on his shoulder, planting one last kiss against his collarbone. “Is there nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?”

__

“I don’t know. You make a compelling argument, but I don’t think that it outweighs the blatant disrespect you have shown me tonight.” He was pouting, but his eyes held that spark that told her know that he was teasing as well. 

__

When his eyebrows drew together and a frown spread across his face, she wasn’t sure that she had read the mood correctly anymore. “Hm.” He looked at her disapprovingly. “I think I’ve found another spot that has gotten cold.”

__

Izayoi gave a shriek of surprise when Toga leaned forward, quickly biting her nose and then placing a soothing kiss on it before drawing away again. She could feel her face growing hot, a bright blush spreading all the way to her ears. 

__

“See, now the blush is for the right reason.” The grin had returned to his face again as quickly as it had disappeared. He looked so unbelievably smug, so proud that he had tricked her, that she couldn’t help herself. She buried her face in his chest, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

__

“I’ve missed you love.”, she whispered after she had stopped laughing. ”More than you can imagine”  
“I think I can.” His hand came up to cradle her face, pulling in even closer before falling onto his back and pulling her along with him. Her head fell into the crook of his shoulder, her feet brushing against his shins. Izayoi inhaled deeply and concentrated. She could feel the frantic beating of his heart pounding against her hand and she was sure that he could hear hers beating just as loudly. She closed her eyes - just for a moment- and let the moment sink in fully. _This wasn’t a dream, he’s really back already, he’s -_

__

Izayoi sat up abruptly, using the hand lying on his chest to push her up, involuntarily startling Toga beneath her.  
“How? _How_ are you back already? I thought that … you _said_ that … I didn’t expect you back for another week or two!”  
“Oh? Can I not surprised my wife with my presence every now and then?” His eyes flew open, almost comically wide, feigning shock. “Or is there another lover hiding in your closet that you wanted to hide first?” 

__

She smacked him against his chest, but there was no force behind it.

__

“Things simply went more smoothly than initially expected, and I felt that my men were more than capable of finishing what I had started, so I was able to return to you sooner than I through.”, he continued.” Would you like for me to go back? It would certainly raise a few questions, but I am sure that they would still appreciate my help.”

__

“Don’t you dare.”, she mumbled as she snuggled back against him. His arms closed around her again, one hand tangling in her hair, wrapping a long strand around his calloused fingers, and then letting it go again, slowly working his way through the knots and tangles she had involuntarily caused in her restless turning. His other hand lay idle against her hip, seemingly content just holding her close. He was gazing at her from underneath half closed lids, his eyes shining with love and adoration, the happiness from their reunion washing over her in waves. She was sure that she was grinning like a lovesick fool, but she couldn’t help it.

__

“Would you like to go inside? It might be a bit warmer there.”

__

“I’m not cold.” 

__

And surprisingly it was true. His presence had lit a familiar flame inside of her, warming her from the inside out, gently burning away the persistent cold that came with lonely nights. With the heat radiating from him, she was slowly relaxing, melting against his chest, muscles letting go of all the tension she didn’t even realize she was holding.  
She wanted to live in this moment. To never move again.  
The same thing couldn’t be said about Toga. He had started running his knuckles up and down the line of her spine slowly, riding out the last burst of energy that was still left over from running all the way back home. “Alright. Just let me know when that changes, okay?” 

__

When she felt his hand slow against her back she looked up at him to find that his eyes were closed, his breathing deep and even. She didn’t think that this feeling would ever stop - the sheer pride she took in knowing that he felt comfortable enough around her to let his guard down, to be soft and playful and vulnerable.  
Eventually Izayoi let out a long yawn, her hand coming up halfheartedly to cover her mouth. Toga batted his eyes open at that, arms unconsciously tightening around her. “Are you tired, Izayoi?”, he whispered into her hair.  
“Yes, very much.”, she admitted, just as quietly. 

__

She could feel his eyes on her, disapproving and worried. After he had found out how much sleep humans _really_ needed, he always made sure that she got at least some rest, even though neither of them liked to cut what little time they had together short. He was even more careful now, and a constantly sleep deprived princess would draw too much attention and unwanted questions.

__

“I _am_ tired, but I couldn’t sleep. I don’t know why. I tried to sleep before you showed up, I really did. Believe me, it is frustrating me to no end.”

__

He seemed to think for a moment. “Would you like to go inside now? You should try to have at least a few hours of rest before you have to be up again.”

__

“Please.”

__

At that he scooped her up, blankets and all, and carried her inside. He carefully set her down on her bedroll, kneeling in front of her and kicked off his boots. When she grabbed his clothes to pull him in, he climbed over her and settled behind her, his arm laying across her waist. She peeled herself out of her blanket roll, slowly untangling the sheets before pulling them over the both of them. When she let out another soft yawn, she could hear him mumble against the pillow. “Try to sleep now.” His hand started drawing lazy, soothing circles across the soft swell of her lower abdomen, fingers applying gentle pressure. 

__

Izayoi fell asleep when the first hints of sunlight appeared on the horizon, telling her that their time together was over for now.

__

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here I was, thinking this would be a one time thing. But I had fun writing and there is not enough content for these two, so I decided to try.  
> The title is from The National's "Don't Swallow the Cap", which is an A+ song if you want to cry in the middle of the night. I didn't realize how much inspiration I had draw from the song until I started looking for possible titles.  
> If you see any typos, let me know so that I can go back and fix them.  
> Apart from that, I hope you liked it!


End file.
